This asylum is open to all AU fanfiction writers. It is also open to all genres and ratings of fanfiction--pretty much anything except stories with sex with minors and/or animals, which are EMPHATICALLY FORBIDDEN--as long as you rate accordingly and warn for the things that could either trigger people's squick-o-meters or post-traumatic flashbacks.

The basic premise of this asylum is to be an idea factory for AU fanfiction. I will try to come up with words, settings--even the occasional plot summaries--to spark the AU muse in the wonderfully creative authors out there I know and love to read. I also welcome asylum patients to post any ideas they would like to share with the other patients and me to help us perhaps come up with an AU story.

All I ask in return for the use of ideas from this asylum is you post either your story or a link to your story in the asylum once it's written.

Please see below for posting guidelines of ideas and stories. Thanks!

The rules for this asylum are pretty loose:

Please note: If you have an empty journal--especially if your profile is empty--your membership request will be rejected!

1. Adults only. This means several things: Membership is by approval only, members must have their birth years in their profiles to be approved, and posts to the asylum will be friends only automatically. It does not mean that all posts must be adult. It merely means that I am taking precautions so that organizations like Net Nanny don't complain and shut me down.

2. If your work contains material you wouldn't see on a standard television program, please mark it as adult. I don't care what rating system you use, as long as people can tell that it's not for a child's eyes. Again, this is to placate organizations like Net Nanny.

3. Please use warnings, and use your common sense when deciding if you need them. A couple good questions to ask yourself when in doubt: 1. Would I see this sort of action outside of a porn movie? (If the answer is no, you most likely need a warning for it because it's probably going to squick someone.) 2. If something like this had happened to me or to someone I loved and I came across it in a fic, would I be upset? (If the answer is yes, you need to put a warning because you could be writing a psychological trigger for someone's post-traumatic stress.)

4. Please use LJ cuts immediately after your work's headers/introduction, no matter how big or small it is. This way, we take up as little space as possible on people's friend lists but still show up boldly because LJ cuts show up in bold.

Now that the Rich-Text posting option is available, making an LJ cut is very easy to do. If you need help, click here to contact the maintainer, and she'll give you step-by-step instructions.

5. Sexual interaction between characters must be between adults only. There should be no stories about sex with children or animals in this asylum. Posting such stories will get you immediately banned without explanation and ALL your posts deleted. Why? Because writing such things promotes abuse, and I believe the promotion of any kind of abuse deserves strong punishment.

6. If you think of a prompt...or two...or more...you are more than welcome to post them! Please follow the prompt posting guidelines below.

7. ABSOLUTELY NO FLAMING OR TROLLING. This is an automatic banning offense, as well. I also have the IP address function turned on, so I'll know if it's you again with a different username.

8. DO NOT criticize anyone's work without discussing the part of it with which you had a problem. Otherwise, you are merely being insulting and are not helping that person grow as a creator at all. If you are incapable of turning your criticism into something constructive, keep it to yourself. Thank you.

EXAMPLES OF CONSTRUCTIVE VS. DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:CONSTRUCTIVE: I think you meant to say, "He thrust the stake through his heart," in the second to last paragraph instead of steak.

DESTRUCTIVE: Geez, you can't even spell stake right.

CONSTRUCTIVE: When writing a character who has a particular way of speaking such as Spike or Angelus, it might make it easier to read if, instead of putting the accent in the spelling, you were to use some characteristic phrases a person with that sort of accent might use to get the accent to come through that way.

DESTRUCTIVE: I can't understand what they're saying half the time!

To Post a Fiction in Response to a Prompt:Title: The Title of your Fiction.Fandom: What fandom the fic is written in. If original, just put "Original."Characters: The characters in your fic. Again, if original, just put "Original."Prompt: The prompt used in your fiction.Rating: The rating. If you don't use standard G - NC17 or ages, explain what the letters mean (e.g., "FRAO" requires explanation).Spoilers: Please warn for spoilers of all episodes that may not have aired in countries all around the world. (Not all shows have even been released across the world, so please err on the side of caution and just mention whatever episodes are spoiled in your fic, here.) Thanks for your courtesy!Summary: One or two sentences to let us know what the fiction is about. If you don't want to spoil the plot, put a teaser, such as "How does (character name) react to others' phobias?" when the story is actually about getting trapped alone in a room with someone who is afraid of storms.Author's Notes: If you owe someone (other than your fandom) credit for something in your story, please make note of it here. This includes beta readers.Warnings: Please include warnings for any and all squicks and/or triggers. (See above guidelines.)Disclaimer: Always an important inclusion (especially for those writing fanfiction), so none of us gets sued for what little we have for perpetuating the popularity of the media corporations'--well, media. (Silly media corporations, thinking we have more money than they do, and thinking we are actually harming their business by doing this.) Disclaimer should include a statement of who the characters (and situations, if you're using the characters' universe at all) originally belonged to, that you claim no ownership of them, and that you are receiving no profit from what you are doing. Here is an example of my Whedonverse fic disclaimer: "You know I wish I did, but you also know I don't. All characters and situations belong to the creative genius Joss Whedon and all his industry affiliates. I receive no profit from this. I am doing this for guilty pleasure and to perpetuate the wonderful series' fan base, an activity Joss has encouraged on more than one occasion."

Then you can either fake cut your fic or lj-cut it. You MUST cut it. ALWAYS. Even if it's only 100 words, please, CUT IT.

To Post a Prompt or Prompts:Please put in the subject line: (Type of prompt) Prompt(s)Examples: Mixed Prompts, Setting Prompts, First sentence prompt

Any ideas, questions, comments for or about the asylum? Would you like to be a moderator, too (web community management experience required)? Click here to send the maintainer an e-mail and tell her!

Thanks bunches! Enjoy the asylum!

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